title: The complex relationships involved in global health: a qualitative description.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Growing numbers of medical trainees now participate in global health experiences (GHEs) during their training. To enhance these experiences we sought to explore expectations inherent in the relationships between GHE stakeholder groups.
  
  
  METHODS
  20 open-ended, semi-structured interviews probed participant perceptions and assumptions embedded in GHEs. A fundamental qualitative descriptive approach was applied, with conventional content analysis and constant comparison methods, to identify and refine emerging themes. Thematic structure was finalized when saturation was achieved. Participants all had experience as global health participants (10 trainees, 10 professionals) from an urban, academic, Canadian medical centre.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We identified three stakeholder groups: participants (trainees and professionals), host communities, and sponsoring institutions. During interviews, four major themes emerged: (i) cultural challenges, (ii) expectations and perceptions, (iii) relationships and communication, and (iv) discordant objectives. Within each theme, participants recurrently described tensions existing between the three stakeholder groups.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  GHE participants frequently face substantial tensions with host communities and sponsoring agencies. Trainees are particularly vulnerable as they lack experience to navigate these tensions. In the design of GHEs, the needs of each group must be considered to ensure that benefits outweigh potential harms. We propose a conceptual model for developing educational objectives that acknowledge all three GHE stakeholder groups.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa Ottawa Hospital General Campus, 501 Smyth Rd, K1H 8L6 Ottawa, ON, Canada. amccarthy@toh.on.ca.
authors.forename: Anne E
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: McCarthy
authors.forename: Andrew
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Petrosoniak
authors.forename: Lara
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Varpio
mesh_terms: D003142:Communication; D054521:Cultural Competency / Q000193:education; D003469:Culture; D004501:Education, Medical / Q000458:organization & administration; D005260:Female; D014943:Global Health / Q000193:education*; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008297:Male; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations; D036301:Qualitative Research